Wells’ Choristers celebrate Shrove Tuesday!

The Choristers joyfully took part in their annual pancake race along Vicars’ Close on Shrove Tuesday.

Eagerly anticipated each year, the pancake race is one of many traditions involving the School’s Choristers.

The Choristers are a core part of life at the Cathedral and the School and have a duty to represent both at the highest standard. However, their important role is not without its fun and the joy was evident on their faces as they stood wielding their frying pans.

Vicars’ Close is a beautiful setting for the Choristers to test their flipping skills and the competition is fierce; the winners enjoy bragging rights for the year, but the race isn’t as easy as it looks!

They have to be exceptionally careful not to drop their pancakes on the ancient cobblestones as they run along in their cassocks, cheered on by their peers who shout with glee as they cross the finish line.

Juliette Coakes, the School’s Chorister Coordinator, commented; “The Choristers look forward to Shrove Tuesday every year, in fact we all do. It is a wonderful tradition, watching the Choristers dressed in their cassocks, as they race with pan in hand flipping their pancakes up and down Vicars’ Close. It’s not all about the finishing line, but also seeing who can flip their pancake the highest whilst remaining upright as they race over the ancient cobbles. These special moments, captured in photographs over the years, will create lifelong memories for the children, the School and Cathedral.”

Alexander Hamilton, Acting Director of Music at Wells Cathedral, said: “Our Choristers work incredibly hard all year round preparing and performing music for the daily services in the Cathedral. However, alongside all our musical commitments, we try to have a great deal of fun, too, and the annual pancake race is definitely a highlight! The Choristers had a great time on Shrove Tuesday running up Vicars’ Close, flipping their pancakes as they went, and cheering each other on.”

The Choristers also had a special surprise when they found themselves on the front cover of The Guardian newspaper the following day which was later discussed on BBC Radio 4. Our thanks go to Jason Bryant for his marvellous photograph of the group mid-flip.

It was truly wonderful to once again hear the historic street filled with the sound of laughter and delight as it has been for years on this special day.